you will see that the photos are of past 12 meters and IACC yachts which were successors to the 12’s in the America’s Cup.

I2

INTERNATIONAL TWELVE METRE ASSOCIATION 7 Warner St.
Newport RI 02840

20 January 2016 By Email

Mr. Thomas F. Ehman
San Francisco Yacht Racing Cup

Dear Tom,

We have followed with interest your efforts to establish a new racing class in San Francisco conceptually modelled on the International Twelve Metre.

While we have no issue with the formation of such a class, the International Twelve Metre Class does object to your continued use of the heritage and history of our class in the promotion of your new one.

As I have mentioned to you before, our Class is active and healthy, especially in the North American Fleet based in Newport, and the in the Northern European Fleet based in the Baltic where the newest Twelve was launched in 2015. This is in addition to the recent refurbishment or restoration of several Twelves such as VICTORY ’83, DEFENDER, BLUE MARLIN, ITALIA II, and VIM.

Further, we have registered with authorities our objection to your use of the International Twelve Metre Class Insignia. Such use is completely at odds with the mutual respect for each other that has existed between sailboat classes since the adoption of such insignia at national and international levels.

Page | 1

As you are well aware, the current 12 Metre Class Insignia has been in continuous use since the adoption of the Second International Rule. Further, the addition of an “S” was used by the Scandinavian 12’s built to the Second Rule but prior to the effective date of universal implementation of the Second Rule. Subsequently, as you also are aware, the “S” has been used by yachts built to the Universal Rule at 17’ rating, specifically the Herreshoff “S” Boat one-design first launched in 1919, and still an active racing class.

Since you have decided not to affiliate your new concept with the Twelve Metre Class, we demand that you and your agents immediately cease using the Twelve Metre in promoting your effort, and cease using the International Twelve Metre Class Insignia.

As I have written to you before, ITMA, our owners, and our sponsors do not wish to see our class, legacy, or brand diluted by your efforts. If your effort is worthwhile it should be able to stand on its own, not on the Twelve Metre Class.

The latest scuttlebutt is that San Francisco is in jeopardy of losing the America’s cup races. Tom Ehman is coming back east to speak with Keith Stokes in Newport, RI.

My reaction to this : “Be careful what you wish for”. Newport, nor Rhode Island does not have the resources to host an America’s Cup as is expected in today’s world. Newport might be able to handle an “Act” ( an event leading up to the AC). Like so many things in life; we shall see. I still believe it will end up in Italy.

San Francisco in danger of losing America’s Cup

(AP) – 1 day ago

San Francisco has been told it will lose the right to host the next America’s Cup unless a deal is signed by Friday.

The warning came in a letter the Golden Gate Yacht Club sent to Mayor Gavin Newsom and other officials on Saturday.

America’s Cup official Stephen Barclay said he considered San Francisco to have come up with the winning bid in early November, when city officials and the yacht club negotiated an agreement that was then sent to the Board of Supervisors to begin the approval process.

But he said the Port Commission recently changed key points in the agreement that would put too much of a financial risk on the America’s Cup Event Authority, which has been contracted by the GGYC to run the regatta.

The Board of Supervisors’ Budget and Finance Committee will hold a final hearing Monday, and the full board is expected to vote on the agreement Tuesday.

“They’re holding on by their fingernails at the moment,” Barclay told The Associated Press on Saturday from his home in Auckland, New Zealand. “It was theirs to lose and they were told that.”

Barclay said the GGYC — which sponsors America’s Cup champion BMW Oracle Racing — set the deadline because the America’s Cup Event Authority is committed to informing participating teams of the venue choice by Dec. 31.

BMW Oracle Racing swept Alinghi of Switzerland in two races off Valencia, Spain, in February to return the oldest trophy in international sports to the United States for the first time since 1995.

San Francisco officials have estimated that hosting the America’s Cup would be worth $1.4 billion in economic benefits and create 8,000 jobs.

Barclay said the GGYC has reopened talks with Italy to hold the America’s Cup in 2013. He added that Tom Ehman, a member of the GGYC’s board of directors, was en route to Newport, R.I., to reopen talks with officials there. Ehman also is a member of the New York Yacht Club, which defended the America’s Cup in Newport from 1930 until 1983, when Dennis Conner was beaten by Australia.

Barclay is chief operating officer of BMW Oracle Racing and a member of the GGYC’s America’s Cup Committee. BMW Oracle Racing is owned by software billionaire Larry Ellison, whose Oracle Corp. is based in Redwood City, south of San Francisco. Ellison also owns a mansion in Newport.

Italy is in the mix because Club Nautico di Roma is the Challenger of Record, which represents the interests of all challengers.

There might even be a third option. BMW Oracle Racing officials are said to have remained in the United Arab Emirates following the recent Louis Vuitton Trophy regatta, perhaps to initiate talks about the America’s Cup being sailed in the Middle East.

“We’re confident we’ll put forward the best possible bid for the team to consider well in advance of the date it has set,” Winnicker said.

Winnicker said the city will consider the GGYC’s recommendations in the letter. The original agreement included a pledge by the city for a local America’s Cup Organizing Committee to help raise $270 million in corporate sponsorship money to help defray the estimated $300 million cost of the regatta, and a commitment by the America’s Cup Event Authority to spend $150 million to refurbish certain piers south of the Bay Bridge in exchange for future development rights.

Barclay said the Port changed the agreement to include piers north of the Bay Bridge and changed the terms of the long-term leases. He added that the pledge of help in raising the $270 million in sponsorship is just that — “a promise, not a guarantee.” He said that pledge was in lieu of San Francisco paying a fee to earn the hosting rights. Valencia, he said, paid $85 million for the 2007 America’s Cup and guaranteed approximately $50 million in sponsorships.

“All of us recognize that having the event on the bay, which really is a natural amphitheater, would just be a fantastic place to hold the America’s Cup,” Barclay said. “That said, the arrangements can’t put at risk the event itself.”

City officials responded Saturday with a letter to Barclay, saying they believe the northern proposal has a greater net development value than the original agreement and will dramatically lower the event authority’s upfront investment costs.

“We believe that the city’s bid, subject to any final changes imposed by the Board of Supervisors during its deliberations, offers remarkable opportunities for the America’s Cup,” the letter said in part. It was signed by Jennifer Matz, director of the Office of Economic and Workforce Development, and Monique Moyer, the port director.

While aware of the city’s financial woes, Barclay said Cup officials were “exasperated” with the changes.

Winnicker said he understands that San Francisco’s process for doing business can be frustrating to some.

“We have always believed that this is a serious competition,” Winnicker said. “We believe this would be an unmatched opportunity for the America’s Cup right here in San Francisco. We’re going through this because we want to win. We want to bring it here.”